


For You, I Will Fight

by LauranGay



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Unplanned Pregnancy, post-the last
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-04-27
Packaged: 2018-03-18 02:49:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3553271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LauranGay/pseuds/LauranGay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sakura Haruno was finally happy; the war was over, her best friends just got married, Sasuke Uchiha was no longer a rouge nin, and she was continuing her work as a medic but an unexpected suprise threatens to burst her euphoric bubble and she will soon begin a battle that she must face alone and no amount of ninjustu will help her win.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Week 4-6

**Author's Note:**

> This is my vision of what happens after the last in between Narutos wedding and the last chapter of the manga (well its a little more dramatic than what probably happened), I'm actually new to Naruto and havent quiet gotten through all of it so bare with me if some things arent quite cannon, but I do hope you enjoy the story and feel free to share your thoughts c:

She was counting backwards in her head, it had been thirty two days, there was no way but it had been over a month now but only by two days and it was just two measly days.

Two days ago Sakura was laughing and celebrating with her friends at Naruto and Hinata’s weeding but now she was sitting in bathroom at work trying to count how many days it had been since her last cycle.

And by her calculations, she was two days late.

She tried to calm herself down, she could be wrong or maybe it was late due to stress. She thought she shouldn’t panic until she was absolutely sure.

But the feeling in her gut felt sure enough already.

She ran a hand through her hair, she needed to compose herself before she left this bathroom, she was still on duty for another 7 hours.

A knock at the door startled her.

“Sakura? Are you in here?” Tsunade boom from the other side of the door.

“Yes! I’ll be out in a minute” She called out, frantically making her way to the sink to wash her hands.

She opened to door to see her former master waiting in the hallway.

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere, we’re slower than usual today so I was wondering if you wanted to go home early since you’ve been here since 5am.” She offered.

Sakura would’ve tackled the blonde Sannin out of sheer relief if she wasn’t trying to conceal her feelings at that moment.

“I do have a few errands I need to run, thanks Tsunade-sama!” Sakura beamed with a show of gratitude.

“Yea, see you tomorrow.” The woman waved her hand.

Ever since the end of the fourth war, Tsunade became head medical-nin at the Konoha Hospital with Sakura at her side. Together they had been working on new regenerative techniques and expanding their care facilities while in this time of peace.

Sakura tried to get out of there as quickly as she could but before leaving the hospital she stopped by a supply closet to pick up something she couldn’t just go buy at the store unless she wanted the whole village to know her business.

The walk home dragged by too slowly for her liking, she practically had to stop herself from running to her apartment which wasn’t even that far from the hospital to begin with.

She put her bag on the table and took a deep breath as she rummaged through it to extract the box she stole from the hospital. Flipping it over in her hands she ripped the cardboard packaging open and took out one of the two foil wrapped tests inside.

Her heart was racing faster now that she held the pregnancy test in her hand, it was becoming all too real.

She didn’t know how but Sakura forced herself to go to the bathroom where she followed the directions on the box. When she was done, she placed the test on the sink and covered it with a piece of toilet paper so she couldn’t see it until after three minutes were up.

She looked at the box in her hands, one line meant not pregnant and two lines meant pregnant.

Sakura could feel the nausea settling in her stomach, she hoped it was just her nerves. She couldn’t think beyond this moment, she didn’t know what to do if that second line appeared. The fact that she was unmarried, and no one even knew about Sasuke coming to visit her in the middle of the night every few months would make this difficult.

Sasuke.

She almost started crying just thinking about him, what would he think? He was still traveling the world for who knows how long. The last thing she wanted him to do was quit everything and marry her just for the sake of a child.

She shook her head to clear it.

“Calm down, Sakura.” She mumbled aloud.

She knew exactly how babies were made so this shouldn’t come as a surprise, she thought they were being careful but apparently maybe not careful enough.

Glancing at the clock, she prepared herself as she lifted the paper off of the test.

Sakura gasped aloud, a hand coming up to cover her mouth.

There were two lines.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at the white pregnancy test, those two little lines instantly changing her whole world. She was going to be a mom.

Her eyes produced more tears than she could imagine but although she was scared Sakura couldn’t find it in herself to regret this, it was Sasuke’s child she was carrying after all. Her unconditional love for him only grew to encompass his unborn baby as well.

She wiped her tears from her face, and threw the used pregnancy test away. She went to her bedroom to lie down and think. Plopping herself on her bed Sakura tried to figure out who she would have to tell.

She knew she had to tell Kakashi, he was the Hokage at the moment and she couldn’t go on missions now that she was pregnant. She would have to tell Tsunade, she was her boss and she would need a doctor to look over her prenatal care as well.

She tried to think of anyone else it was a necessity to tell; she wanted to tell Ino, Sai, and Naruto but if they knew then she might as well tell the whole village and she wanted to keep it from everyone until Sasuke knew.

But Sakura had no clue when she was going to tell Sasuke.

She wanted to him to decide to come home on his own, but she didn’t know how much longer his trip was going to last, it had already been almost three years since he started traveling.

The thought of keeping it from him for the entire pregnancy was terrifying, she didn’t want to go through it alone.

A loud tap on her window shook her from her thoughts.

Sai was smiling from the other side of the glass when she walked over to let him in.

“Can’t you use the door like normal people? You’re starting to act like Kakashi.” She grumbled.

“Kakashi-sama is the Hokage, so being like him isn’t so bad.” He replied in his usual cool demeanor.

Sakura fought the urge to roll her eyes.

“What do you need?” she asked with more aggression in her tone than she meant to.

“We have a mission, report immediately back to his office.” Sai relayed before disappearing.

Shit, she thought, getting out of this was going to be tough.

-

Kakashi was sitting in his office with Sai, Yamato, and Shikamaru.

“There you are, Sakura, now let’s get on with the mission details.” Kakashi announced as she walked it.

“Wait, can I speak with you” she interrupted. “Alone.” She added.

Kakashi looked at her for a moment dumbfounded.

“Uh, sure.” He agreed, confusion apparent in his eyes.

The others went outside, Shikamaru groaning in annoyance.

“What’s wrong?” Kakashi asked sincerely.

She took a deep breath.

“I can’t go on this mission.” She stated, her words jumbled form speaking so fast.

He just stared at her, like he was waiting for the punchline. She was trying to form the words to tell him why.

“It’s not a very hard mission, just an escort.” he stated slowly.

She closed her eyes.

“I’m pregnant.” She stated in almost a whisper for fear her voice would break.

She opened her eyes to see him staring at her with a wide shocked eye, motionless. She waited for him to say something or do something but he just sat there.

“I just found out about 15 minutes ago, so…” she said to fill the silence.

He nodded his head slowly, but he almost looked like he didn’t believe her.

“How?” he gaped.

Her face reddened considerably at his question.

“Do I really need to tell you how babies are made?!” Her voice sounded strangled.

“No, I mean. I’m sorry this is very unexpected but who? I mean, with who?” he stumbled over his words in embarrassment.

Sakura didn’t know if she should even tell Kakashi that it was Sasuke but she wanted to be honest with him.

“With sasuke, it’s um Sasuke’s.” she half mumbled, a little embarrassed.

She didn’t know how but he looked even more shocked.

“Are you sure? I mean he’s not even here.” He asked.

She almost wanted to laugh at his absurd question, she was _definitely_ sure it was his.

“Well actually he’s been here a few times, to see me.” She clarified.

Kakashi took a deep breath and sat back in his chair.

“I guess no mission for you after all, who all knows?” he questioned.

“Just you right now but I’m planning on telling Tsunade-sama tomorrow.” She answered.

He nodded his head and placed his chin between his interlinked hands.

“But, I would like it if you didn’t tell anyone else.” She added. “Until Sasuke knows.”

Kakashi sighed, but he agreed.

“So Sasuke comes to see you?” he asked her suddenly.

“Yes, but it’s not very often. Maybe every three or four months.” She explained.

“I see, when did that start?” he said.

“About a year ago.” She stated in a quiet voice.

“It’s just you he visits? What about Naruto?” he questioned further.

“No, just me. If Naruto knew then the entire village would know.” She half smiled now, thinking of how true that would be.

“Are you okay?” he inquired seriously.

She was touched by his sincerity, but she didn’t quite know what she was feeling. Everything was so new, she was so scared but anxiety ridden, freaked out, panic stricken, and oddly excited would also be a good name for what she was feeling.

“No, I don’t know what to do.” She replied honestly.

He looked at her sympathetically and she had to swallow down the emotions that threatened to break through the surface.

“Well this is something I can’t teach you how to do.” He sighed. “But I think you should start by telling Tsunade.”

Sakura nodded her head in silence. She would tell her first thing in the morning but she needed the rest of the evening to think and try to come up with a plan of sorts.

“If it’s worth anything, I think you’ll be a great mom.” Kakashi stated unexpectedly.

She smiled at him, it was worth something.

“Thank you, I guess I should go.” She bowed her head respectfully before turning to leave.

“Just send the others back in, we’ll figure out something.” He smiled.

She headed for home, leaving the others confused about why, to get some needed rest. She was mentally worn out. It was a lot to process in one day.

The walk home was short but along the way she noticed a mother with an infant, hold the small body close to her own in a cloth carrier. She was obviously in love with the child, cooing to it every now and then.

Her hand unconsciously found the flat surface of her stomach, if it wasn’t for the two pink lines and her cycle being late, she wouldn’t believe she was even pregnant. There were no symptoms and she nowhere close to showing, she knew that wouldn’t last long.

The apartment was as quiet and empty as always, sometimes she almost missed living at home.

She groaned aloud after realizing that she would have to tell her parents at some point too. No, she decided, she wasn’t going to worry about that right now.

She was going to make dinner first, she needed to eat more now that she was pregnant.

The word pregnant bounced around in her head, it felt like it hadn’t quite sunk in yet. After all she could miscarry or not even actually be pregnant. It could all be a fluke and she was over reacting but the feeling in her gut was just too prominent.

Her entire evening was spent making speeches in her head, trying to figure out when and how she should tell Sasuke. She needed to get him to answer questions without setting off any alarms.

And if there was anything more impossible than hiding something from Sasuke, it was getting him to talk about how he feels.

The man was still difficult and unforgiving when it came to himself. She was often scared he would never believe he deserves happiness but Sakura was determined to believe it for the both of them. Not many people overcame what he did, he completely changed the course of his fate. Everyone swore up and down he could never come back but he did it.

Her eyes pricked with fresh tears, not being able to talk to the two people she loved the most was killing her. Not only was Naruto a blabbermouth but he was on his honeymoon so she couldn’t tell him if she wanted and Sasuke might not see her for months and she was still deciding on when and how to even tell him.

Part of her wanted to hide it until he was ready to come back for good, but surely there was no way to hide an actual child from him. Everyone in the village would know in a short few months as her belly grew.

Sakura tossed and turned all night, her brain too wired to fall into a deep sleep.

The morning came all too fast, and practically without sleep but as she sat up to go take a shower her stomach lurched and before she could get to a bathroom she threw up the remnants of last night’s dinner all over the floor. 

“Crap.” She muttered to herself. The last thing she needed was morning sickness. 

She got ready to go into work, her stomach heaving like the sea during a storm. She should probably eat something but she was out of time and she probably couldn’t keep it down right now anyways.

The hospital as quiet at 5am, everyone was tired from the night shift or tired from waking up at 4am. The quiet certainly didn’t help her nerves, it just allowed her to think about what she was going to have to do.

Finding Tsunade was easier than she hoped for, she was just sitting in her office reading over patient files.

“Good morning, Sakura.” She greeted halfway not paying attention.

“Hi, um, I need to talk to you about something.” Sakura began, her stomach becoming more unsettled.

“Okay, what is it?” she waved her hand impatiently.

Sakura felt the wave of nausea hit her before she could even stop what was going to happen. Charging for the nearest trash can available, she threw up absolutely nothing but bile.

“Sakura! Are you sick? You can go home if it’s that bad.” Her former teacher yelled.

She shook her head.

“I’m pregnant, I came to tell you that I’m pregnant.” She huffed, wiping her mouth. She couldn’t look up for fear of the disappointed look that would be on Tsunade’s face.

“What?!” Tsunade shrieked.

Sakura flinched, she was expecting some yelling after all.

She looked up to see the disbelieving look plastered on the blonde’s face.

“I found out yesterday, I’m going to need a doctor.” She mumbled.

Tsunade looked like she was going to yell some more but she clamped her mouth shut and ran a hand through her hair.

“You’re only 19 years old! Are you sure you want to do this now?” she whispered, she was so calm it was almost creepy.

Sakura took a deep breath, Tsunade just wanted what was best for her but she didn’t need this lecture right now.

“I know but it’s already too late, I’m sorry if I disappointed you but I need you to be my doctor now and I need you to keep this between us.” She stated as confidently as she could manage.

Her former master shook her head.

“I’m not disappointed, I knew you were going to have a family one day I just assumed it would be in a few years and you’d have someone to raise a family with. I’m worried that you’ll have to do this on your own.” Tsunade explained.

She felt affection swell in her chest, Tsunade was a tough teacher but her heart was bigger than she showed.

“I’m not alone, I just have to give Sasuke the time to come home on his own. If I tell him before then I’ll never know if he chose me because he wanted me or if he felt obligated.”

Tsundae gave another start.

“I should’ve known it was his, now I’m disappointed.” She snorted.

Sakura gave her look and she laughed.

“But I think you’re not giving him enough credit, obviously you’ve been seeing him I don’t know how since he’s supposed to be on this big self-awareness journey but somewhere along the way he decided he needed to pause this journey to occasionally see you.” She acknowledge.

Sakura felt a surge of emotion temporarily replace the nausea.

“If you ask me, he’s already decided.” She added.

Sakura nodded, too emotional to speak. Tsunade had a point, every time Sasuke visited her she noticed he would stay longer and longer. The first time was only about a few hours but the last time he came he was there for almost the whole night. She thought that maybe she was just seeing things she wanted to see but that morning he looked like he didn’t want to leave.

She blushed at the memory, that night was the night the baby was conceived.

“But that doesn’t mean I like him.” She interjected. “But maybe if he proves himself to be a good husband and a good father, I’ll think about forgiving him.”

Sakura smiled, this was the closest to a congratulations that she was going to get. 

“Thank you.” She said.

“Yea yea, now come on let’s get you checked out. I can see the morning sickness already kicking in.” She noted.

Together they walked to an exam room not too far from her office. Sakura sat in the patient chair while Tsunade started filling out her chart.

She went through the standard part of the checkup, she noted down her height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, and then she made Sakura pee in a cup to test again to really make sure she was pregnant.

“When was your last menstrual cycle?” Tsunade asked in a very doctor like fashion.

“33 days ago exactly, they have always been 30 days apart so I knew when I was late” Sakura replied.

“I see, well then you aren’t very far along at all.” She commented. Tsunade wrote something on the chart.

“In fact, by my calculations your four weeks and one day exactly.” She said thoughtfully. “We’d have to wait another four weeks to see the heart beat.”

She forgot that you’re supposed to track a pregnancy by weeks and not months.

“Well, you are pregnant is seems so in another four weeks you’ll come back for your next appointment and until then take it easy. The first 12 weeks are the most touchy, miscarriage isn’t uncommon and you’ll be sick for most of it.” Tsundae finished.

“Thank you Tsunade-sama.” Sakura smiled.

Tsunade smiled back.

“Just take care of yourself, kid.” She waved as she left the hospital room.

Sakura walked down stairs to finally start her morning, now that she was feeling more emotionally stable she could focus on work.

-

The day went by quickly, though they might not be at war hospitals are always usually busy and Sakura needed the fast pace of the emergency wing to take her mind off of her worries but she couldn’t shake the nausea that wracked her stomach since this morning.

It was constant and for fear of throwing up anything, she stuck to crackers and water for lunch.

After work, Sakura was too tired to make anything special for dinner so she just ate some soup which she threw up in the middle of the night.

And that’s how she passed the next two weeks; working, barely eating, and then throwing up. Sakura had so much on her mind but now that her best friend was coming home from his honeymoon, she felt a little better.

Today was her day off and she planned on seeing Naruto and Hinata as soon as they got back.

She was excited but she felt so tired, sleeping wasn’t the easiest these days and she was often left wondering why they called it morning sickness when it was happening at all times of the day.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She walked over to the door not sure who to expect but she was very happily surprised to see Naruto’s dorky grin on the other side of it.

“Sakura-chan!” He yelled.

“Naruto, you’re back already!” she smiled.

He wrapped his arms around her in an affectionate hug, she was relieved to her best friend back.

“How was it? Did you two have a good time?” Sakura asked delightedly.

“Yea! It was amazing, we stayed at this awesome bath house and then we went to the ocean, and everything was so amazing.” He gushed.

She smiled at his enthusiasm but Naruto’s smile faltered when he looked her over.

“Sakura, are you okay?” He asked. “You look pale, and have you lost weight?”

She opened her mouth to say something but in the end she just laughed and smacked him on the head.

“Is that anyway to greet your friend? I look smaller because you just got fat from eating all that food on your honeymoon.” She poked him in the stomach and he grinned guiltily.

“Speaking of food, we should go and get some ramen!” he offered.

Her stomach flipped with the thought of eating ramen but she should try to eat something, Naruto’s assessment of her weight wasn’t wrong. She needed to eat more, losing weight wasn’t what pregnant women should do.

“Okay, Iet’s go.” She agreed.

They walked the short distance to Ichiraku, all the while Naruto talked excitedly about the adventures he and Hinata went on during their honeymoon. She was so glad he was happy, her friend deserved this kind of happiness.

Ichiraku greeted Naruto happily, giving him a free bowl of Ramen in celebration of his wedding.

Her queasiness only got worse as she smelled her food when it was placed in front of her, the baby definitely didn’t want her to eat ramen.

“So have you heard from Sasuke while I was away?” he asked with food in his mouth.

She felt a wave of sadness wash over her, she wanted to tell him everything but she couldn’t. It was hard to keep this locked away from everyone else.

“Just the usual letters.” she answered, picking at the food in front of her.

“Oh, well I’m sure he’ll be back soon. I’m just sick of getting letters, I wanna see that cocky bastard.” Naruto sighed.

“I know what you mean.” She agreed. She missed him more than ever.

“But he’s doing a lot of good, we heard about him everywhere we went. He’s helped rebuild houses and even worked at an orphanage. Can you believe that? Sasuke really has changed.” He stated.

She smiled at Naruto, he looked more like a proud father than a friend.

“Where’s Hinata?” Sakura asked changing the subject before she got too teary eyed.

“She went to visit her family, I still don’t think they like me that much.” He replied.

She laughed at his ridiculous assumption, every in town loved Naruto.

“Don’t be silly, I’m sure they love you.” She laughed.

“You should really eat, Sakura.” He added seriously.

She looked down at her mostly uneaten bowl, she had a few bites but she already felt like she was going to puke it back up.

“I’m just distracted by your arrival, I’m eating, see?” She took a bite for show.

He squinted at her in suspicion but dropped it apparently satisfied by her taking a bite. They ate some more, and he listened to her talk about the hospital and all the things her and Tsunade were doing.

“Well, I guess I should be going. We’re moving into our apartment today.” He stated as he finished off his ramen.

“I’m happy for you Naruto.” Sakura smiled at her friend.

Naruto grinned sheepishly.

“Thank you, Sakura-chan! I’ll see you later okay? We’re gonna have a dinner at our place after we’re all moved in.” He said in parting.

They said their goodbyes, and Sakura wanted to take a refreshing walk around town since it was such a nice day but the few bites of food she ate was already threatening to come up.

Her apartment was all too quiet, she wished she could do something besides throw up. Once she was done puking the little bit of ramen she ate she went to her room to lie down but when she looked out her window she saw a hawk sitting there.

It was Sasuke’s hawk.

Her heart went into double time and she raced to the window to retrieve the letter attached to its leg.

She unrolled the scroll and her eyes eagerly took in everything on the page

 

_Sakura,_

_I’m currently in the land of earth right now, there are hardly any trees and the winds threaten to blow any passing travelers off of the mountains. I hope Naruto’s wedding went well, I’m half expecting that idiot to do something to mess it up. I will most likely be here for a while, maybe a few months since this country is so big. I miss you._

_-Sasuke_

Her heart fluttered in her chest, this letter was as short and to the point as all of them were but this was the first time he said that he missed her, he actually wrote it down on paper.

She re-read the letter over and over again, Sasuke wasn’t a man of many words but he knew just what to say to ease her mind.

But her elation died down quickly as she realized that he would not come to see her for months, by the time be came back everyone might know due the size of her belly.  The hawk cawed at her, impatient for a reply to send back to its master.

“Okay, give me a minute.” She stated in a whisper.

She got out a pen and some paper and hurriedly thought of a reply.

 

_Sasuke_

_I do hope you don’t get blown off a cliff, I would be very upset if that happened. The wedding was beautiful, I cried the entire time but what’s new? Naruto actually did everything right this time, I was pleasantly surprised. Besides the wedding nothing here has changed much, everyone is doing well. I hope you’re safe, we miss you too._

_-love, Sakura._

She kept it short this time to keep from letting too much of her feelings seep into the letter, she already slipped up by saying ‘we’ but she hoped he would think she meant it as her and their friends and not her and the baby. Sasuke had a knack for decoding her feelings.

She tied the letter to the hawk and it took off from her window. She watched it disappear into the sky and she thought about laying down to take a nap but her stomach lurched and she ran to the bathroom.

This pregnancy was going to be harder than she thought.


	2. Bonus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was an "in character" practice I did for Sasuke to help me learn how to write him that got a little long and started to tie into the story so this is now a bonus chapter that gives you some insight to how Sasuke began to visit Sakura on the side during his journey, who knows maybe the next bonus chapter will be how little salad was made ;) ps Chapter three should be up in a day or two

He thinks of her more and more as the nights grow shorter. The warmth in the air mimics the warmth in his chest when her face flashes through his mind.

This will be his second spring without her, if he lets it.

And Sasuke must let it.

He can’t give up now no matter how tempting running back to Kohona is. He almost thinks it’s impossible that just a short time ago he wanted to destroy it.

The nightmares are more than enough to remind him.

He wakes up screaming. The anger running fresh through his veins as if he was 16 and ready to throw his life away for the sake of revenge all over again. His fist clenched and he can feel the need to destroy running through him.

It usually takes a few minutes to remember why this hatred is poisonous.

Hatred like this can only destroy. It can never rebuild and that’s what Sasuke is really after now, a new start. He wants to mend the bonds he’s tainted with his hatred.

He wants to be worthy of Naruto’s friendship, and he wants to be worthy of Itachi’s sacrifice but he wants to be worthy of Sakura in a way that he doesn’t want to admit, he doesn’t want to let himself feel because he doesn’t think he’ll ever be worthy enough for that.

Not after all he’s done.

He tries to stop his unruly mind from traveling down that path but it’s hard to do when every pink petal that falls from the trees look just like her hair in the wind, or when the leaves unfurling from their newly grown stems are as green as her eyes.

Sasuke walks down the overgrown trail before him, the sun is high in the air and the forest around him is alive with the new season.

He’s headed toward the land of rivers and to get there from the land of sound he will pass right by Konoha.

The temptation is all too real, it has been well over a year since he last saw her and he thinks of how she might have changed in that time. Part of him fears that change might not be in his favor, she could find someone who would love her and their past might not be tainted like his own.

He can feel a familiar feeling wash over him, jealousy. He clenches his fist as his mind plays through an imaginary scene of a faceless man sweeping Sakura off her feet, taking her on dates, making her smile, and laugh. He can barely stand to think of it but he cannot bring himself to stop it if it happens.

After all what right does he have to her?

He keeps walking, something he’s grown quite accustomed too. The sun begins to disappear little by little as he continues on, the forest doesn’t change much but he’s thankful for the shade it provides as the days start to get warmer and warmer.

Once sun turns orange he usually makes camp but, he thinks he should keep walking. Konoha isn’t too far yet, and he needs to keep moving or else he might give in and try to see her.

Sasuke’s mind was traitorous tonight as he keeps replying scenes after scenes of the past, he thinks about the first night he left her when they were Genin.

Her tears and her desperate pleas for him to stay were echoing through his head, he remembers the guilt he felt for months after that. The only consolation for him was that she was better off without him. He was so full of hate that there was no room for love so she would be disappointed in the long run.

But now that his hatred was weaning, slowly but surely, there was room for new feelings.

He breathed in slowly, trying to regain focus and control his mind. He had become proficient in self-discipline under Orochimaru but on this night all his training had become useless.

Unknowingly his feet carried him toward the object of his thoughts, for hours he walked not noticing that he was headed straight for the red gates that were so familiar to him until he looked up and saw them in the distance.

Sasuke stared, he shouldn’t do this and he knows it.

He wasn’t supposed to return until he was fully redeemed, he must keep going until he has searched the world for his forgiveness. He couldn’t allow himself to fully admit those feelings until that day.

But there was a pull, as if he was bound to some unseen force that was pushing him forward.

He was at the gates now, the guards sound asleep. The peaceful era making their defenses weak.

Sighing, he slipped through the barrier undetected with his shredded willpower.

He would only look at her, seeing her would pacify the gnawing ache inside of him. Then he would continue on his way and hopefully relinquish some of the fear that she had moved on.

Staying in the shadows as not to be seen, he swiftly made his way to her apartment. Near the hospital that she loved and worked so hard to improve. The lights were on in her windows so he carefully stalked his way to the balcony attached to her room.

He peered inside but her bedroom was empty, he searched for her chakra signature with his Sharingan to see where she was but it wasn’t in the apartment.

He took a deep breath and slid the glass door open.

Her bedroom was sparse and a little untidy. There were clothes piled on the floor, and her bed was unmade. She wasn’t as trained in the importance of orderliness like he was.

The room smelled very pleasant, it smelled sweet and warm. He could never explain it in words but Sakura’s smell always reminded him of a memory of him and Itachi laying in the sunlight on a summer day looking at the shapes in the clouds.

He looked over and saw the picture of team 7 as kids on her night stand.

Sasuke wondered into the small living room and kitchen area, it was cleaner than her room, there were no dishes in the sink and no clothes lying around.

He was beginning to feel out of place, like he was an intruder. He thought he should go and as he walked into her bedroom her front door opened. He shrunk back into the shadows and hid his presence.

He was so busy snooping that he wasn’t even paying attention to who was coming and going around him.

He heard her footsteps come closer and he couldn’t help but feel nervous, as if this was a mistake.

But she walked through the door and he was unable to think.

Her pink hair was in a very unkempt bun at the top of her head, with strands falling in little wisps all around her heart shaped face. Her hair was longer too, judging by the way the falling strands hung around her shoulders. She shrugged her jacket off and tossed it onto the floor. She looked very tired, she must have had an emergency at the hospital.

“This is why parents should have safety bars on their kids windows, It’s almost 3am, she better be glad he wasn’t more hurt than he was.” She muttered to herself angrily.

He couldn’t stop the way the corners of his mouth tugged up at her words, she had a bad habit of angry muttering when she was tired.

She started to unbutton her shirt and he froze.

He saw her, he got what he wanted so he should leave now before he stepped into pervert territory.

But he couldn’t leave, his plan to just look at her and leave was a trick that his mind played on him to get him here, and now he wouldn’t be satisfied until he spoke with her.

How annoying, he thought absent mindedly.

Stepping out of the shadows he cleared his throat to alert her to his presence in the room.

He should have thought of a better plan because she screamed when she saw him.

“It’s just me.” He stated calmly.

Her wild green eyes looked him up and down, her hand covering her mouth in disbelief.

“Sasuke?” she whispered.

He gave her a cocky smirk to lighten the mood but she just stared at him with her hands over her mouth. Her beautiful eyes looked a little teary.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” He murmured.

She dropped her hands and suddenly ran to him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and her lithe body pressed close against him.

Maybe a little too close if he wanted to keep himself in check.

She held onto him tightly, and he wrapped his arm around her waist. Her face was buried in his chest and her shoulders were slightly trembling.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” She half sobbed.

He felt a pang of guilt at her reaction, he had no idea that his being away would affect her this much. He was gone longer than this before, and this time he was sending her letters so it wasn’t like they weren’t in contact.

“I really shouldn’t be.” He sighed.

She looked up and gave him a confused look.

“I can’t stay, this wasn’t a planned visit.” He clarified. A visit that has clearly gotten out of hand.

His hand moved on its own from her waist to wipe away a stray tear that was on her cheek. His touch lingered on her face, having her so close to him was making him do things he knew he shouldn’t.

“I missed you so much.” She whispered softly.

His breath was caught in his throat and he was suddenly very glad that his lapse in will brought him here.

Sakura must’ve realized what she said because her face turned red and she backed away a little.

“W-we all missed you.” She stammered.

He smiled a little at her, she was very funny when she was embarrassed.

“I missed you, too.” He spoke honestly.

Her blush deepened and she played with a stray piece of hair.

“How long are you staying?” she asked.

“Not long, maybe an hour.” He answered.

She looked visibly deflated, he felt the same. He wanted more time with her, but he couldn’t or else he would run the risk of never leaving.

“I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep.” He offered.

She thought it over and nodded her head yes, but she still looked a little sad.

Sakura quickly went to her bathroom to change, and soon returned wearing a set of blue and pink stripped pajama bottoms and a large white t-shirt with her hair now loose around her shoulders.

Leaving would be even harder now.

She climbed into bed and he sat on the side opposite of her, she curled up close to him. Her body was so close to touching his, he could feel her warmth radiating off of her.

It was becoming difficult to not touch her.

“I’m not going to be able to go to sleep with you here.” She murmured, petulantly.

He gave her a short breathy laugh.

“Try.” He urged.

She sighed and closed her eyes, he watched as they restlessly danced behind her closed eyelids. He lifted his hand and gently combed his fingers through her hair, he would never tell her but part of him liked when she wore it shorter.

She breathed slowly, and he watched the rise and fall of her chest. Her lips slightly parted as she began to relax.

He tried not to think about the way her lips would feel against his but his mind never behaved when it came to Sakura, and that was the most annoying things about her.

“Sakura.” He called softly.

She hummed in acknowledgement and he suddenly became nervous. He shouldn’t try to push his luck, he should enjoy this moment with her untainted but he was selfish by nature.

She lifted her head to look at him when he didn’t say anything else and he took the opportunity to lean over and capture those plush lips with his own.

She froze and he was almost worried he had pressed his luck but her mouth tentatively opened to his kiss and he was able to thoroughly enjoy it knowing she had kissed him back.

Her lips were agonizingly soft and their kiss sparked a whole new fire in his veins, he had to pull away before he slipped up even further.

She was breathing a little more deeply, her breath hitting his face in little puffs. Her pretty face was flushed and surprised.

“I’m sorry, I should let you sleep.” He whispered.

She looked like she was going to say something else but quickly ducked her head down and pulled the blanket to cover her ever reddening face.

“Now I’ll never go to sleep.” She grumbled.

He continued to play with her hair as he watched her relax once more, and sure enough she began to snore quietly not too long after, he could tell she was exhausted.

He knew his time was running out and he panicked a little when his body refused to move but the memory of how willing he was to kill her after his fight with Danzo moved his feet for him.

He still had more to work on before he could be with her, so he had to leave.

Sasuke leaned over the bed and placed his lips on her forehead before sneaking out the balcony doors.

He walked past the gates of Konoha once more, leaving the village behind, leaving her behind.

But he was only leaving for a little while, and he had an inclination he couldn’t stay away for too long.

Not with the feeling that lingered from their kiss.


	3. 6-11 weeks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh! here's chapter 2! also I have no clue whats up with the technology situation in Naruto so as of now ultrasound machines exist in their world but I hope you enjoy and thank you for the positive feed back!

 

Another two weeks went by, she was finally kind of excited to go to her next appointment with Tsunade. She might even be able to hear the baby’s heartbeat.

She was also excited to be that much closer to 12 weeks, she read that after the 1st trimester the nausea would go away. She was so looking forward to that, there was no way she could go through this entire pregnancy barely eating.

It was the end of her shift when she went to Tsunade’s office, she was sitting at her desk doing paper work.

“Hello, Tsunade-sama.” She greeted cheerfully.

“Is it that time already?” Tsunade greeted.

Sakura laughed lightly as the other woman rose from her desk. Together they walked to the same exam room as they used before, except this time there was an ultrasound machine in it.

Tsunade started by taking her weight, temperature, and blood pressure.

She was writing down everything when an odd look crossed her face.

“Sakura, you’ve lost almost 10lbs.” she gasped.

She paled, surely she couldn’t have lost that much weight.

“I haven’t been able to keep food down most days, this morning sickness is constant.” She explained, her hands nervously playing with the hem of her shirt.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” she half yelled. Sakura chewed on her bottom lip.

“I thought it was normal, I mean I haven’t exactly done this before.” She explained.

Tsunade’s anger faltered, and she sighed.

“I guess you haven’t.” she agreed quietly.

She started setting up the ultrasound machine and had Sakura lie back on the table so she could take a look.

The gel she placed on her stomach was cold but as soon as the wand came in contact with her skin should see an image pop up on the screen.  

The picture was all black and white, she wasn’t sure what the baby would look like but Tsunade began to point to the screen to explain further.

“See that grey blob?” she asked. Sakura nodded.

“That’s the placenta.” She stated. “And this white blob is your baby.”

Sakura tilted her head, inspecting the blob. It had a head and smaller body. The arms and leg weren’t formed yet so it looked just like a gummy bear.

“It’s tiny.” She marveled. Though it looked more like a piece of jellied candy than a baby, she was still happy to see it.

“And there’s a heartbeat.” Tsunade pointed out a flickering speck inside the baby.

Sakura suddenly felt a swell of emotion in her chest, the baby was alive. It was so small, impossibly small but it was alive.

Tsunade clicked a bunch of buttons and took measurements of everything so it took another 10 minutes until she turned the machine off.

“The baby is measuring around 8 weeks and 3 days, which is good it means he or she is measuring right on track but I’m going to give you some medicine for your nausea because it looks like you could possibly have more than just morning sickness.” Tsunade revealed.

“What do you mean?” Sakura asked, confused.

“It’s called Hyperemesis, and it’s not all that uncommon but it can cause a lot of problems if left unchecked including death of the fetus but we won’t know for sure unless the vomiting persists past 12 weeks.” She answered.

Sakura felt fear run through her.

“It’s the worst case scenario so don’t worry about it too much but stay hydrated and try to eat as much as you can, even if you feel sick. You need to be gaining weight not losing it” She added.

Sakura nodded her head, she would do anything for this baby.

“Any questions?” Her former master asked.

“When’s my next checkup?” she asked, getting off of the table.

“Its normally around 16 weeks which is two months away but I want you to check your weight weekly to make sure your gaining and report back to me.” She instructed.

Sakura nodded her head, she could do that.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to work then.” She told Sakura.

Sakura said her goodbyes but before she was out the door Tsunade grabbed her hand, she looked up to see the sannin with worried eyes.

“Take care of yourself.” She instructed sternly.

“Don’t make that face, Tsunade-sama. I’ll be fine now that I know.” She smiled, to ease the worry of her former teacher, and friend.

She only nodded at Sakura, so she left to go back to the remainder of her shift at the hospital.

That night as she walked home from work she saw Ino leaving the flower shop. Her long blonde ponytail swaying in the wind. What she did not notice was Sai waiting in the shadows.

“Good Evening, Sakura.” Sai called to her.

She smiled at them both and sprinted over to where they stood.

“Hello, Ino-pig.” She greeted her friend.

She gave a short laugh and poked Sakura on the forehead.

“Haven’t heard that in a while, billboard brow.” She teased.

Sakura stuck her tongue out her friend playfully.

“Why weren’t you at Naruto and Hinata’s dinner a couple weeks ago?” she added, accusingly.

Sakura was surprised she would bring that up since it felt like so long ago now, but truthfully she skipped that dinner in fear of people seeing her not being able to eat or worse actually throwing the food up.

“I was busy at the hospital, but I’ll make it up to them somehow.” She replied.

Ino huffed at her answer but didn’t see anything wrong with it but Sai rose an eyebrow at her.

“You look a little pale this evening, Sakura.” Sai mentioned suddenly.

Sakura was about to get worried that he would see through her but Ino interrupted whatever answer she was about to give Sai.

“When is Sakura not pale? She would give the moon a run for her money with that white glowing forehead.” She scoffed.

Sakura was unusually happy for her friend’s insults this evening, they were providing a distraction from her actual problems.

“So mean, Ino-pig,” she clicked her tongue.

Ino smiled an extended her arm out to Sakura.

“Want us to walk you home?” she asked.

Sakura smiled and took her arm and the offer.

“So what are you two doing seeing each other alone at this time of night?” Sakura asked teasingly.

Ino blushed furiously but Sai answered for her.

“I believe it’s called a date.” He stated coolly.

Ino looked like she was going to have a heart attack.

“But I don’t know what to call it now that you’re hear.” He added.

“Don’t worry Sai, It’ll be a date again after you drop me off.” She giggled, loving how this was messing with her friend.

Ino was too flustered to speak for a moment.

“It’s not a date! Sai was just going to walk me home!” she shouted.

She laughed at her friends, but the idea that their wedding was next popped into her mind.

When she finally got home that evening she took the medicine that Tsunade gave her as instructed and made a light dinner. Nothing too big in case it didn’t work and she wouldn’t have to spend all evening puking up a big dinner.

She ate her food and went to bed, she was nauseous but she was able to keep food down until she went to sleep at least but as soon as she woke up that morning she all but made it to the bathroom to throw up.

The medicine only worked for the night.

Every day she took the medicine but it only helped a little, she was throwing up every day still unable to keep much food down. She was soon begninng to feel the effects of not eating much, she was tired, dizzy, and her skin was growing paler by the day.

When she reported to Tsunade the first time she wasn’t satisfied with her weight gain, it wasn’t even a whole pound.

When she reported for the second time, Tsunade suggested some homeopathic remedies, like ginger tea and acupuncture.

When she reported for the third time, Tsunade suggested an IV.

“it’s been three weeks and you’ve only gained back two pounds.” She muttered almost to herself. Tsunade was reading over her charts carefully.

“I hate to do this but if we don’t do something soon I’m scared you’ll lose the baby.” She announced.

Sakura nodded silently, she wasn’t too keen on it but it had crossed her mind already. She was willing to do anything to keep her baby safe.

“Come on, I’ll put you in a bed on the top floor. It’s rather empty tonight and no one is likely to go in there by accident” She said.

“Am I staying overnight?” she asked quietly

Tsunade nodded.

“I want to keep you on an IV of nutrients and water for the next 12 hours.” She explained.

They walked to the room Tsunade had in mind and she made Sakura put on a hospital gown and then hooked her up to parenteral nutrition bag.

“We might have to do this a few nights in a row.” She told her as she was tucking Sakura into the hospital bed.

She nodded, it wasn’t the most comfortable feeling in the world but she could withstand it for a few hours.

“I think it would be wise if you took some time off of work too, until you can start gaining weight again.” Tsunade informed her.

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, not going to work would certainly arouse suspicion but she quickly shut it. Her baby was more important than what others thought.

“Okay.” She agreed.

“Do you want me to stay with you?” Tsunade asked.

“I’ll be find, thank you.” Sakura shook her head.

“Okay, I think you should feel better in the morning.” She said before she left.

Sakura was alone in the dark quiet hospital bed and it was at this moment that she wanted Sasuke at her side the most.

Falling asleep wasn’t easy, she wasn’t in her bed, and the IV was mildly uncomfortable but she did it. It was a fitful sleep, full of undecipherable dreams.

The sun shined brightly through her window, waking her up.

But she all but screamed when she saw Naruto sitting in a chair by her bed, with his eyes closed.

She looked around the room, there was no one else there. She tried to silently get up but Naruto spoke making her jump again.

“I knew something was wrong when I first saw you after getting back.” He stated quietly.

She looked at him, he was staring at her seriously. It almost looked like he was scared.

“Please Sakura, what’s wrong with you?” he pleaded. His large blue eyes drilled into hers.

“Don’t be silly, Naruto. I’m fine.” She tried to smile at him but she knew deep down that hiding this from him was almost impossible.

“I finally got Sasuke back, please don’t tell me you’re going to be taken from me now.” He whispered.

Her heart almost broke in half, he sounded so defeated.

“I can’t tell you just yet.” She answered as honestly as she could.

He opened his mouth to say something else but she grabbed his hand before he could finish.

“I promise what’s going on with me isn’t killing me, it’s making me sick but it will make sense when I can finally tell you.” She explained as best as she could without giving it away completely.

He didn’t look completely satisfied but he also didn’t looked scared out of his mind either.

“Just keep this to yourself for now okay? And please, don’t mention anything about this to Sasuke in your letters, alright?” she told him.

He looked guilty and her heart stuttered.

“You haven’t, have you?” she whispered

“I didn’t know what else to do…” he trailed off, scratching the back of his head nervously.

“What did you say?!” She half yelled. Her stomach was in knots and it wasn’t from the nausea.

“At first, I just mentioned my suspicions about you losing weight and being so pale and then he said he noticed your letters getting shorter and you sounded off but I after I found you here laying in the hospital alone hooked up to a bunch of wires looking half dead I might have sent him a message just a few hours telling him you were hospitalized and no one knew what was wrong with you.” He gulped when he finished his speech but all Sakura could was stare hopelessly.

“You idiot.” She sighed, defeated.

“I didn’t know what else do! He made me promise to watch out for you when he left so I couldn’t just not tell him!” he proclaimed.

She hung her head in her hands, unable to process just what was set in motion. If Sasuke came running back, he would find out everything before choosing to come home on his own but if he didn’t come at all then he never really cared about her.

It was a lose-lose situation.

She got up from the hospital bed in frustration but as soon as her feet touched the ground she felt the room spin, her world darkened and she heard Naruto yelling.

“Sakura-chan!” he screamed repeatedly.

She couldn’t focus on anything but she felt her body falling until something caught her and she heard Naruto screaming for Tsunade.

“She’s bleeding! Tsunade! Someone Help!” She heard him scream before her surroundings went completely dark.

-

Sakura cracked her eyes open, She was in the same room as before but she felt sore and dizzy. Her head was throbbing.

She looked up to see her standing next to her, then she remembered what Naruto was screaming about.

“Is the baby gone?” she whispered, despair seeping into her very core.

“I’m not sure, you were bleeding but that happens to many pregnant women.” She answered.

Sakura closed her eyes, she felt like sobbing but she couldn’t. She hated herself in this moment, it was all her fault. She did this to herself, she should have taken more precaution with her hyperemesis or taken extreme measures sooner.

Now another member of Sasuke’s family was probably dead and it as all her fault.

Tsunade had a machine in her hand that she didn’t recognize.

“This is a Doppler, were going to use it to try to hear the babies heartbeat.” She informed Sakura.

She lifted the hospital gown over her stomach and poured some more cold gel on her belly. When the wand of the machine was placed on it all you could hear was static.

Tsunade moved it around, her face steady in concentration but Sakura had already given up. She was sure her baby was gone. Then a sudden whooshing noise came through loud and clear and Tsunade’s face sagged in relief.

“There it is, 160 beats per minute.” She smiled gently at Sakura whose eyes were filled with tears. The relief of hearing that noise flooded into her eyes.

She ran her hand over her stomach, something she did often these days.

“Sakura, I think you’re getting a bump.” Tsunade stated suddenly.

She looked down and saw it, the fainted roundness where there was usually hard muscle. It was small but it was there.

“I guess I am.” She whispered, she almost felt like smiling.

“Well, I better let that stupid kid back in before he has a fit. He was terrified you know.” She sighed.

Sakura nodded her head as she settled back against the pillows, her small pregnant stomach safely hidden beneath the blankets.

“Let him in.” she sighed weakly.

“Before I go, I should let you know that you’re now on strict bed rest until I state other wise and that IV will stay in as well. You’ll be in the hospital quite possibly for weeks, so I think you should tell Sasuke as soon as you can because people will start finding out soon.” She instructed before opening the door.

Sakura chewed on her lower lip nervously. She was soon going to have to tell Sasuke and she had no idea how the hell she was going to explain all this.

Naruto bull dozed his way back into the room.

“Are you sure it’s not killing you?” he asked loudly as he sat back in the chair beside her.

“It looks bad but I’ll be okay.” She promised.

He still looked worried but didn’t say anything else on the matter.

Sakura felt weak, light headed, and her head was killing her but for the first time in forever her stomach wasn’t heaving so maybe it was time for some much needed sleep.

She had Naruto by her side for the moment so maybe now she could sleep better knowing she wasn’t alone.

“I’m so tired I think I’ll just take a nap.” She whispered, her eyes already fluttering closed.

She fell asleep fast and she must’ve had a deep sleep because she didn’t remember having a single dream and when she woke up it was dark outside.

She slept the entire day, being pregnant was very tiring. Her hand found its way to the very small swell of her abdomen and she rubbed it affectionately. Then she felt a presence sitting next to her, had Naruto really spent the whole day sitting by her side?

“You should go home, Naruto.” She chided, rubbing sleep from her eyes “I’m sure Hinata’s worried about where you are.”

“He did go home.” She heard a deep voice respond, a deep voice that she knew and loved.

Her eyes shot open and she looked over to see a tall, mincing figure sitting in the chair beside her.

His dark hair fell in his face but she could see the eyes practically glowing in the darkened room, one purple and the other red.

“Sasuke.” She whispered, shocked.

He didn’t respond, he was just staring at her. She felt her stomach flutter as she looked at him. She wanted more than anything to reach out and make him hold her. She didn’t realize how much she missed him until this moment.

She tried to sit up but her whole body was sore and weak, and she didn’t miss the way Sasuke’s eyebrows cinched together.

“Don’t try to get up.” He instructed, he sounded calm. Much too calm.

She knew he must be angry with her.

He was standing over her now, his hand rose as if he was going to touch her but he must’ve thought against it when it fell by his side again.

She wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what.

“Why?” he almost whispered.

Sakura didn’t know what he was asking exactly.

“Why what?” she rasped, her voice cracking from sleep.

His jaw clenched as he looked over her.

“Why are you in the hospital? Why does no one know what’s wrong with you? Why didn’t you tell me?” his voice rose a little as he continued but still looked relatively calm on the outside.

That was a lot of why’s, she concluded.

“First I need to ask you something.” She stated.

He looked at her but stayed silent, she took that as a yes.

“If Naruto hadn’t said anything, would you eventually have come back?” she asked.

He clenched his jaw but stayed quiet for a moment.

“I promised you the day I left that I would. I didn’t leave to get away from you, I left so I could deserve to be here.” He stated slowly.

She bit her lower lip, the day he left he poked her on the head and said he’d see her soon. She felt a little bit of confidence make its way through her body, Sasuke was different now, she had to remember that.

“Now, answer my quest-.” He started but she cut him off.

“I’m pregnant.” She said, in low voice.

He stood there with his mouth still slightly opened, and she saw that his eyes widen by a fraction. She became nervous as he just stood still, unmoving and unresponsive.

She was worried that he was unhappy with the news but slowly his hand rose again, and he reached out to her this time placing it lightly on her cheek. His hand was cool but his touch was very welcomed.

“How long?” asked, his voice less tense.

“I’m 11 weeks, so about three months. The reason I’m in this stupid hospital bed is because I have this extreme morning sickness. I’m not able to able to keep any food down so I kept losing weight.” She explained.

He nodded his head in thought.

“When were you going to tell me?” he questioned.

She nervously fidgeted with her blanket, she wasn’t so sure it would make sense if she put it into words.

“Um, when I saw you again. I didn’t want to interrupt your journey.” She whispered.

His hand moved from her cheek to her hair, he was looking at her face and she wasn’t sure he was even listening.  

The sharingan in his right eye finally faded back to his normal dark onyx. She couldn’t decipher much from his face but she swore he looked almost…sad. She was expecting angry, or shock but not sadness.

She grabbed the hand that was playing with the loose strands of her hair to get him to look her in the eyes.

“What are you thinking?” she murmured.

She went with a direct approach, Sasuke was too good at hiding his feelings otherwise. He looked away from her face, and for a minute she was convinced he wasn’t going to reply at all.

He finally looked back at her, his mismatched eyes staring at her intently.

“You don’t want me to be in the child’s life.” He stated bluntly.

She stared at him in horror, how could her intentions have become so screwed up? That was the opposite of what she wanted.

She wanted him.

“I can’t say I blame you…” he said in a low voice.

She shook her head.

“No! That’s not what I want, Sasuke!” her voice broke.

He looked down at her but he almost didn’t seem to believe her.

“Please, believe me when I say there’s no one else’s child I would rather have.” She pleaded with him desperately.

He should know more than anyone how much she loved him, she felt the hand she was holding move. He ran his fingers over her wrist.

 “You’re cold.” He stated.

She gave him an odd look.

“The fluids they’re pumping through me is making me cold.” She agreed.

He let go of her and shrugged off the beige tattered poncho he had been accustomed to wearing while on his travels. He draped the material over her. It was warm from his body heat and smelled pleasantly like him, strong and woodsy.

“I shouldn’t be making you upset, you need to rest.” He sighed, resigning to sit back down but not before leaning over her to place his lip on her forehead.

“Go to sleep, I’ll be here when you wake up.” He murmured.

She sighed and snuggled up to his poncho, they could talk more about it tomorrow but for now she was just going to enjoy having Sasuke back.


	4. 11-13 weeks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> very sorry this took so long to update, end of semester drama and all that but here is chapter 3!
> 
> also dont even talk to me about gaiden right now, I cant believe poor Sasuke has to be away from his family for so long after already losing all the others and Sakura looked so stressed, my poor babies TnT

 

Sakura was in a dark room, it was barely lit but what she could see was a crib. It was white and she walked toward it unsure of what was happening.

Looking into the crib she saw a baby. It had dark hair and its face was scrunched up but it was the sweetest face she had ever seen, and immediately somehow she knew it was her baby.

The baby was wrapped in a blue blanket and she picked it up carefully.

It was a boy.

She had a beautiful baby boy, her heart swelled inside her chest and she never knew that a heart could possibly hold this much love. The baby was moving his tiny fingers and she could only stare at his beautiful face as his eyelids fluttered open.

And red, swirling eyes stared up at her.

Sakura jerked awake suddenly, the hospital room completely different than the room she was in a second ago.

Her breathing was labored as she tried to get her bearings back, the dream was so unsettling it left her reeling.

“What’s wrong, are you feeling okay?” Sasuke was at her side in a flash.

She looked up to see his sharingan activated, she was touched by the worry clearly etched on his features.

“I’m fine, it’s just that dream was so vivid.” She sighed. .

“What were you dreaming about?” He asked, his eye fading back to its lustrous onyx color.

She was pleasantly excited by his interest but she didn’t want to delve into the dream, she couldn’t explain it but it left her with an anxious feeling.

“The baby.” She told him, blushing a little under his gaze.

He nodded his head in understanding.

“I-I think it’s a boy.” She added quickly. She didn’t know how he felt about being a father yet so she was nervous to talk about the baby.

His eyes flitted to her stomach and he looked thoughtful.

“I think you’re wrong.” He smirked.

She raised her eyebrows at him and she felt a little flutter in her chest at his words, maybe he wanted a daughter. The thought of him with a little girl made her heart all but melt.

A short knock at the door interrupted their moment and Tsunade walked in. Sasuke looked at her strangely and Sakura felt like she missed something.

“Good, you’re finally awake.” She sighed.

“What time is it?” Sakura asked, the curtains were drawn so she couldn’t tell how bright it was outside.

“Its about 10:30, I tried to come talk to you about two hours ago but your watch dog here kept kicking me out.” She looked pointedly at Sasuke who just snorted quietly.

She was surprised that she was able to sleep so long, she was probably asleep for a combined 20 hours over the last two days.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Good, actually.” She answered honestly, she felt rested and her head wasn’t hurting.

“Good enough for visitors? Because there is a horde of people waiting outside since they found out you were here.” Tsunade informed her.

“Oh, I guess.” She mumbled. Her nerves spiked, everyone would find out what she was hiding for the last month. Sasuke must have picked up on her sudden mood change.

“But you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, they can wait until you feel better.” He interjected.

Tsunade looked like she was going to murder him, obviously they must’ve butted heads while she was asleep.

“No, it’s okay. They can come in.” she assured him, he looked unsure but didn’t say anything else on the matter.

“Okay, I’ll let them in.” she stated before walking out the door.

Sakura mentally prepared herself for the onslaught of questions and the embarrassment of having to tell them. She was a little worried about them being disappointed in her.

The door opened and in walked Ino, Sai, Shikamaru, Hinata, Naruto, Kiba, Tenten, and Lee.

They all started talking at once.

“Are you okay?!” Ino screeched.

“Oi, you have us all worried sick!” Kibda barked.

“I knew you looked off.” Sai spoke.

“What’s wrong with you ?” Tenten asked.

“Sakura-chan is too beautiful to die!” Lee wailed, dramatically.

Sakura’s head was reeling from the commotion and Sasuke looked ready to throw them all out of the room.

“Okay! Let’s let Sakura-chan explain!” Naruto boomed, effectively making everyone shut up.

Sakura bit her lip as they all stared at her expectantly.

“Um, I know I shouldn’t’ve hidden this from you all but I have a good reason.” She announced nervously.

They all looked confused.

“Well, I thought it was a good reason.” She whispered, unsure.

“Just tell us! We’re your friends” Tenten pleaded.

Sakura took a deep breath, she needed to just say it.

“I’m just, uh, expecting.” She stammered.

They all looked clueless, well, all except for Shikamaru and Hinata.

“Expecting what?” Kiba asked loudly.

“A baby.” Sasuke answered, and everyone looked at him like they didn’t notice he was there.

Ino brought her hands up to cover her mouth, and Naruto’s mouth fell to the floor. Everyone looked so shocked that Sakura instantly started blushing.

“I’m about three months, so it’s still really early and I didn’t want to tell anyone just yet but then the morning sickness was so bad that I needed to be put on an IV.” She raised her hand where the IV was to show them.

“I hope you’re not mad…” she added.

Both Ino and Naruto suddenly ran over and wrapped their arms around Sakura.

“Mad? I’m so relieved, I thought you were dying and it turns out your just going to be a mom.” Ino sniffled in Sakura’s ear.

Sakura smiled and hugged her friends back.

“I’m going to be the Uncle right? I’ll be the best Uncle in the world, you know. ” Naruto beamed, pulling back to smile at Sakura.

“Who’s the dad?” Kibda asked stupidly.

They all looked at him as if he was an idiot, and Sasuke really looked like he was going to throw them all out.

“Obviously Sasuke, Kiba-kun.” Hinata whispered urgently. 

“Oh.” He uttered dumbly.

“Another Uchiha, huh.” Shikamaru muttered in thought.

Sasuke stood up abruptly as a nurse came in with food.

“I think you should all let Sakura eat in peace.” He announced, they groaned in unison but none of them looked ready to fight him on it.

“I’m the Uncle, I deserve to stay!” Naruto argued, still holding on the Sakura. She giggled at him but Sasuke wasn’t having it.

“I will throw you out first, Idiot.” He threatened and Naruto sulked over to where Hinata was. She patted him on the back and smiled.

“Yes, I think that would be a good idea for now but I need to talk to you outside Sasuke.” Tsunade ordered. “Alone.”

Sakura was nervous, they looked ready to fight each other.

“Alright, fine.” He agreed.

They all trailed after them, saying their goodbyes except Hinata who lingered in the doorway.

Sakura looked at the food before her, rice and shrimp tempura. It looked good and she was hungry but she was also sure it would just come back up later

“Um, Sakura can I ask you a question?” she asked, her quiet voice sounding nervous.

Sakura looked up, a shrimp half hanging out of her mouth.

“Sure” she mumbled, stuffing the food into her mouth.

Hinata looked very uneasy, but she moved to sit by her bedside.

“How did you tell Sasuke?” she asked

Sakura swallowed the food in her mouth, thinking about how to word it.

“I just kind of blurted it out, I was nervous.” She laughed, the memory making her embarrassed.

Hinata nodded her head thoughtfully.

“Was he…was he excited?” she asked in her small voice.

Sakura stopped eating to think, she can’t say if he was or not. She only remembered him asking a bunch of questions and then him assuming that she didn’t want him to be the father.

Maybe he didn’t want to be the father.

“I don’t know.” She whispered.

Hinata picked up on her change of mood and grabbed her hand.

“Oh no I’m sorry, that came out wrong. I know he’s happy about the baby, I mean you should’ve seen how protective he was of you this morning. I just wanted to know how he initially reacted. I know he’s a lot different than Naruto but I just need advice on how to tell him I’m -.” She stopped short, covering her mouth but Sakura already knew what she was going to say.

She stared at her in surprise before a huge smile broke out on her face.

“Hinata you’re pregnant too?” she whispered.

Hinata nodded her head, and a smile appeared on her face.

“When did you find out? How far along are you?” Sakura asked excitedly.

Hinata blushed and buried her face in her hands.

“I found out last week, I felt more tired than usual so I went to the doctor and they told me I was pregnant.” Her voice was muffled by her hands but Sakura could still make out what she said.

“Wow, I’m so happy for you!” she clapped.

Hinata looked at her and blushed again.

“I’m about 5 weeks, I have to go to another appointment in about three weeks but I don’t know how to tell Naruto.” She stated.

“You should do something cute, like give him a shirt that says world’s best dad or a onesie! Naruto’s the type who would be much more outwardly excited. Sasuke just keeps his feelings more to himself.” She advised.

Hinata pursed her lips in thought.

“That seems like a good idea, Sakura. I think I should tell him, today.” She sighed.

Sakura smiled in encouragement.

“Now tell me more about Sasuke, he and Tsunade looked ready to fight this morning.” Sakura asked in a hushed tone.

Hinata giggled at her.

“We got here around eight to see you but Sasuke was standing outside the door to your room blocking Tsunade and they were arguing. She needed to wake you to check on you but he said to let you sleep longer and she threatened to have him banned from the hospital if he got in her way and then he said she would move him over his dead body.” Hinata explained with a laugh.

Sakura shook her head and laughed. She doesn’t think Tsunade and Sasuke would ever get along.

The door opened and Sasuke walked through.

“Hinata.” He greeted.

She stood up and bowed in greeting.

“I was just leaving, we’ll see you soon Sakura. I hope you feel better.” She smiled at them both.

“Bye, and good luck!” she called, making Hinata blush as she left.

She smiled as she looked at Sasuke who looked confused.

“I heard you took on Tsunade-sama, that’s brave.” She snickered at him.

He scoffed as he sat down in the chair beside her.

“She tells me you need rest and then tried to wake you when you finally stopped tossing and turning.” He mumbled.

She remembered her strange dream and shuttered, there was nothing strange about the fact the child would possibly inherit the sharingan but something about seeing on an infant made her feel uneasy.

“You didn’t eat all your food.” He commented.

She was too distracted by Hinata’s news to finish but all that was left was the rice.

“Oh, well I’m not hungry now anyways.” She noted, setting the plate back on the tray. Her stomach was already feeling a little queasy from what she just ate.

He looked a little unsatisfied by her answer but she changed the subject too fast for him to say anything.

“Hinata’s pregnant too.” She announced.

Sasuke’s eyebrows raised by a fraction but he didn’t look too surprised. 

“She just found out and she’s going to tell Naruto sometime today.” She added.

He scoffed softly.

“That idiot always has to copy me.” He murmured, a small smile playing at his lips.

Sakura smiled too, she was excited at the idea of their children being friends. She unthinkingly put her hand on her stomach, a comforting habit she picked up not too long ago.

Sasuke’s smile faltered as he watched her, he looked sad again.

“Are you okay?” she asked in a small voice.

He got up from the chair and walked over to her, she eyed him curiously. He stood tall from where she sat in the hospital bed, he had grown into such a formidable looking man it was a little intimidating.

He sat down beside her and her heart fluttered from the proximity, his leg was touching hers. She immediately felt silly, they had been much closer than this before.

“Can I?” he asked suddenly, his hand outstretched toward her.

She was confused at first, she didn’t quite know what he was asking but then she realized he wanted to touch her stomach.

She nodded her head and led his hand to the rounded part of her stomach, although she was still small you could tell it wasn’t as flat at it usually was.

He stared at their conjoined hands resting on top her clothed stomach, he had some unnamed emotion swimming in his eyes. Sakura waited in silence as his hand curled, clutching at the fabric of her hospital gown.

“Maybe we can talk Tsunade-sama into letting you see the baby on the ultrasound machine? He’s very small, like a little bean but I bet he’s grown since I saw him the first time.” She commented to lighten the mood.

He continued to stare at her and she felt a little defeated, she didn’t want him to look so sad.

“Do you think the baby will hate me, when it learns about everything?” he asked quietly.

She started at his words, she had no clue why the baby would ever hate him.

“You’re his father, he’ll love you no matter what, we both will.” She answered honestly. She lifted his hand and brought it to her mouth, kissing his strained knuckles.

He face softened just the slightest and he leaned in close to her, his lips pecking her forehead before pulling her into his arms.

With no shame she buried her face into his chest, she missed his touch too much to even care. Nothing felt more right than being held by him, with his warm scent filling her nose and putting her nerves at ease.

“I think you should try to sleep.” He mumbled into her hair.

Sakura frowned, she had been sleeping for far too much and now she wasn’t tired.

“I’m not sleepy.” She stated, a little petulantly.

 Sasuke pulled away a little to look at her, and she wanted to complain since she was just getting comfortable.

“You heard what Tsuande said, you need to rest.” He warned.

“I can rest right here.” She mumbled, laying her head back on Sasuke’s chest.

She felt his chest move with silent laughter, she was glad he seemed in higher spirits.

“Will you at least lay down?” he asked a moment later.

Sakura sighed, she wanted to sit with him longer but he was determined to get her back to sleep.

“Okay.” She resigned, pulling away from him to lay back down. “But I can’t just sleep all day, I’ll go crazy with boredom.”

He pulled the blankets over her, with an amused look on his face.

“I’m sure we can find some way to entertain you.” He smirked, looking like the boy she fell in love with when she was 12.

Her face most likely turned the same shade as her hair and Sasuke looked like the one who was being entertained.

“I meant getting you books to read or having friends visit you _that_ will have to wait until you’re off bed rest.” He poked her forehead with that same smirk still plastered on his face.

“T-that’s not what I was thinking at all!” she franticly sputtered.

He looked down at her with his sharingan swirling.

“Hm, that’s a shame.” He murmured.

Sakura didn’t know if her face could get any redder but Sasuke just laughed to himself as he walked toward the door.

“I’ll be back, I’ll get some things from your apartment for you. Anything you need specifically?” he asked.

She shook her head no, she already had everything should ever want, and he left shutting the door quietly behind him.

She laid back into bed, she really doubted she could honestly sit in a hospital bed for days on end. This felt like it was going to be torture.

And she was right.

Three weeks passed by slowly, she couldn’t believe she laid in that hospital bed for three whole weeks. She only got up to use the bathroom or let the nurses change the sheets. Her nausea was still present but she was finally able to eat on her own for a few days in a row without throwing it back up and her weight was back to where it should be.

Naruto and Hinata announced their pregnancy publicly just a week after Hinata told Sakura and sure enough he was over the moon, in fact he wouldn’t shut up about it and was very excited that he and Sasuke were going to be fathers at the same time.

The only shining light through the entire three weeks of hospitalization was having Sasuke constantly by her side. He was there night and day, making sure Sakura was comfortable. He did his best to keep her mind off of the boredom of sitting in one spot all day. He brought her books, he told her all his stories of his adventures while he was away, and he even played games with her but he refused to play shogi with her anymore because he never won.

She loved spending time with Sasuke more than anything but she was determined to get the hell out of the hospital unless she as working in it.

“Tsunade-sama, you know I’m a very capable medic nin right?” Sakura asked with a sigh as her former teacher was taking her temperature.

“I do know that very much.” She replied, sounding suspicious.

“I think I can continue my bed rest at home, I’ve been doing a lot of research on pregnancy so I think there shouldn’t be any more surprises for me and if I can’t keep food down then I can administer my own IV when I need it, and I might add that Sasuke will be there to monitor me if anything should go wrong.” She listed everything she could think of to convince Tsunade.

Who just laughed at Sakura.

“I guess you’re right, besides you’ve been gaining weight now so I think you’re out of the woods. I’ll go get the discharge papers.” She agreed. “Though I find it funny that you should ask during one of Sasuke’s rare moments out.”

“It’s just a coincidence.” She lied, she knew Sasuke wasn’t going to like this.

Tsunade just laughed to herself but left the room without any more comments.

Sakura was too happy about leaving to care much about anything else at that moment, she was finally going to her own bed, and do things for herself again.

Sasuke walked in at that moment and pecked her on the forehead in greeting. Sakura didn’t think she would ever grow accustomed to his casual touches. He kissed her quite frequently on the mouth, on her cheek, on her hand, and on his favorite place her forehead.

He plopped a bag on her lap that she didn’t notice him carrying. She opened the bag with curiosity and found a box.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“Now that you haven’t been quite as sick lately, I thought you might like these.” He answered.

She opened the box and saw her favorite treats all neatly lined in paper wrapping, she especially eyed the anko dumplings.

“Thank you, Sasuke.” She smiled sweetly, her heart felt filled to the brim with pure happiness.

He nodded his head but looked a little embarrassed if you looked closely.

“Tsunade-sama came by while you were out.” She stated popping a dumpling in her mouth, they were just as delicious as they looked.

“Hmm.” He answered.

“She said I could go home today, and I can finish my bed rest at home.” She informed him.

He looked at her with narrowed eyes.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? A few days of keeping food down doesn’t mean you’re all better.” He said worriedly.

She smiled at his concern but she was not staying in the hospital even one more day.

“I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself now, I’ve done the proper research on the medicine of pregnancy and child birth so I think I will be fine.” She tried to sooth his worries but he looked unmoved.

Tsunade came in just as he was about to say something else.

“Alright, I have the papers but I have some instructions before you leave.” She stated in her loud voice. “Good, Sasuke you’re here, you need to hear this.”

He looked at her intently.

“You will not work for at least another few weeks, permitting that you’re gaining the appropriate weight and keeping food down. You can be off bed rest but no heavy lifting, training, or intense physical activity. You will gain at least one pound a week, and if you should lose more than 2 pounds in one week, your ass is back in this hospital.” She instructed.

“And Sasuke, make sure she remains stress free and that she eats.” She told him.

Sasuke looked unhappy but he didn’t argue with her, surprisingly, for which Sakura was glad. He must’ve known how bad she wanted to go home.

“Yes, Tsunade-sama!” She saluted happily, immediately throwing the covers off to gather her things and finally go home.

“Sit down, I’ll get your stuff.” he ordered. Sakura huffed but didn’t verbally complain, either way she was going back to her apartment with Sasuke and their unborn child still safely growing inside of her so nothing could ruin her happiness.

The only thing Sasuke let her carry on the way back to the apartment was the IV kit and bags that Tsunade gave her and despite carrying everying she had collected in her hospital room he opened the door for her when they arrived.

“Sasuke, I can help some too.” She noted from the living room, as he walked off to begin putting all her things away.

Despite not being here very often he knew where a lot of things were, and she noted that her apartment looked cleaner.

“Have you been cleaning?” she asked, surprised.

He appeared from her bedroom where he walked off to put her clothes away.

“Yea, I figured you would have to come home sometime so I picked up so you wouldn’t have to do any extra work.” He commented, a little blush coating his cheeks.

She smiled to herself, a little amazed.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she thought aloud, the words were said lightly but his face darkened.

“Do you expect me to be mean to you?” he asked, offended.

“N-no, I didn’t mean it like that.” She stammered, she felt stupid for saying that. It wasn’t meant to be the way it came out.

“I know what I’ve done can never be erased, it’s there forever and I’ll always be trying to make up for it but I don’t want you to walk around surprised by every nice thing I do. I want to take care you, and I want it to be natural.” He sounded frustrated and at a loss for words.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to make you understand that I’m here, and I won’t leave you again unless I have to, or if you don’t want me” He finished sadly.

She felt her heart flutter in her chest, he had just poured a lot of his heart out and she was both shocked and overwhelmed. She knew he was trying so hard to earn his forgiveness and she felt terrible for hurting his feelings.

Sakura walked up to him and grabbed his hand.

“I really wasn’t thinking when I said that, I know you’ve been trying and I have forgiven you but you’re not perfect either so please don’t think I will retract my forgiveness if you’re not perfect all the time.” She stated.

He looked down at her silent but thoughtful.

“Plus I really love all the attention I’m getting so I think I only said that because I wasn’t used to it before.” She laughed.

She could see his anger deflate and he leaned his forehead against hers.

“Hurry up and get used to it because I’m not leaving you again.” He murmured, stroking his thumb across her knuckles.

She made a bold move and captured his lips with her own. They had kissed many times before but she was usually too shy to initiate it. He responded eagerly, opening his mouth against hers to deepen their kiss.

His hands let go of hers to find perch on her hips and she clutched at the front of his poncho. She definitely could never get used to kissing Sasuke, his mouth moved in a way that made her insides melt and her heart rate soar.

She was already feeling the heat when he pulled away from her, his breathing a little labored.

“I need to start dinner.” He breathed.

She frowned but she was a little hungry so the kissing would have to wait until later

“You know I can cook too” She stated.

“Yes, but it will make me feel better if you let me cook for you.” He poked her forehead and she sighed.

“Fine, but I’m making dinner tomorrow.” She bargained.

She plopped down on her olive colored couch as he walked into the kitchen to start making their dinner.

“Do you even have any ingredients?” she asked, recalling that she’s been away for three weeks so there can’t be any fresh food.

“I bought some earlier when I got you the sweets, I was already planning on making you something.” He replied.

She smiled at him and watched him while he worked.

Sakura felt like this must’ve been a dream, because she couldn’t imagine she’d ever be this happy. She rubbed her hand over her abdomen, the baby was so lucky to have such a great father and she couldn’t wait for them to meet.


End file.
